A Village Childhood
Imagine allowing a small child to run alone like this in a town or city? Here, in the hill village of Gorbio, children are safe.
~~~~~
Imaginez-vous un petit enfant seul qui court ainsi dans une ville ou dans une cité? Ici, dans le village perché de Gorbio, les enfants sont en sécurité.
charming and cosy!
ReplyDeleteIdyllic, Jilly--the photo, the sentiments, the village life.
ReplyDeleteJilly, love your photos. I try to visit Menton each year, your pictures remind me of very happy times. Kim, England
ReplyDeleteAnd, I bet that the adults watch out for their safety. Some always seems to be watching, like the figure in blue.
ReplyDeleteGood one, and its comment, too. Sad that we all have to be on our guard...sometimes I think that this 'fear factor' is a control thing, brought about by media and government. There's for sure legitimate reasons to be afraid, but not to the point they'd like us to believe.
ReplyDeleteSorry for not commenting this past week--out of town!
Looks like a simply gorgeous village, and if children are safe there, so much the better...
ReplyDeleteAh good, the way it should be.
ReplyDeleteThis is precisely the sort of scene that has made my hunger to visit so undeniable.
ReplyDeleteSaturday morning here, Jilly. Sun is out. Still coolish. Nothing to show you that compares to your offering this morning. It is an interesting picture. From the perspective, it is hard to tell if the person is a child or an adult? I suppose you know. Maybe you spoke to her or him.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the green box with a roof hanging on the wall by what looks like a door? I guess the pipe is a sewer pipe. I see one just beyond it.
Looks like a cobblestone street. I think the closest our state ever came to a cobblestone street was when the first streets went from mud to graveled mud they went to brick streets. The stop signs were brass triangles inlaid in the brick. You could drive over them but there were no traffic lights or stop signs like today.
On my blog Abraham Lincoln's Blog I am beginning to story of my life. Ass-kicking, countryfied, tales from me chest of memories. The language is not French.
That's me , in Menton, xxx years ago!I surely looked a little like that! :)
ReplyDeleteChildhood as it should always be!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful picture, Jilly. What a wonderful place to grow up. One reason it is safe is that much of village life is at the windows. The first thing I did every morning on the Rue Longue was throw open the shutters and look out on the street. Often neighbors were already in their windows. I exchanged greetings everyday with a man I never met at street level. One day, I was able to break up an argument about to become violent from my window 3 flights up. When you live in a village minding your own business has a different meaning for sure. That's why I have no problem going back to Menton by myself. You always know there are other people, just a window away.
ReplyDeleteFabulous place to be a kid!
ReplyDeleteJilly, you have totally made me dream of visiting Gorbio. It is amazingly charming. It is just what I wish for when I think of traveling - old, quaint, character in every stone you see. Beauty and simplicity. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI'm envious. When I was a kid, I lived in perfect freedom from the time I could walk, but my own kids had an adult within an arm's reach at all times. I sometimes wonder if they faced real risks that made us so protective, or whether we were just nuts and should have given them more space.
ReplyDeleteIt's always nice when kids can roam freely. No cars.
ReplyDeleteHowever, what when these kids get older, will they use the bicycle to visit their friends in Menton? Or will they call Mam & Dad taxi services to cram the small roads in the backcountry?
When I see a shot like this I am drawn back into a terrifying film from the 70s with Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie about a little girl who drowns. It is set in Venice.
ReplyDeleteYour words here are soothing, but there is a lingering sense of danger for those of us who live in a teeming metropolis.
Oh for those days again. What a perfect image Jilly. Gorbio is so very special and at least we can experience it through your eyes.
ReplyDeleteV
I love the greenery in your photo - the vines, the flower pots! Such a lucky child to casually stroll through such a lovely area!
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a scene from a movie... How wonderful is the innocence of a childhood in these surroundings... I bet that Malyss did look just like this...
ReplyDeleteBises,
Genie
this is a beautiful shot Jilly...absolutely charming!
ReplyDeleteJilly
ReplyDeleteGorbio seems to be a wonderful place, beautiful in its simplistic cobble stones, and charming building structures uncluttered and clean, I image that everyone knows what everyone is doing with such close proximity to one another.
Just unbelievably charming.
joanny
Yes, wonderful!
ReplyDeleteTeenagers might find living closer to the action in town is more fun but there's a lot to be said for such peaceful and safe childhoods.